Way Back When
by GlimmeringB52
Summary: Kagome is an overly boring girl with an overly boring life. The well she finds changes everything, though. Accused as a witch, 'rescued' by Native Americans, and unable to communicate, she must learn to survive. IK. MS. [Rated R to be safe]
1. Chapter 1

**Way Back When**

**By: Moon Turnip**

** Chapter 1**

That bell, it wouldn't ring. It was making her sit there, in that smelly classroom, and it was not going to let her go. The second hand was ticking all too slowly for the girl; if it could go just a bit faster......5......4......3......2......1...............one and a half? Awwwww! It stopped! How dare that measly little stop! No! It can't be true! Time has stopped and she was going to be held in the most boring chemistry class for all eternity! The noxious fumes emanating off of the teacher would surely drive her to the brink of insanity before his monotonous voice cracked the shell of the stupor that Kagome had sunk into for the past hour. Life was against her. If only that stupid hand would move! Then she could get out of here and go home and escape the boredom and tediousness, but noooooooo! It was just going to stay there and taunt her, with that smug stillness just- RIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!!!

Oh. Ok.... Yay! School was over and the girl shot out of her seat and ran out the door, trying to put as much distance between her and that horrible room as fast as humanly possible while avoiding other people in the hallway and trying not to be knocked flat on her ass.

Such is the norm for Kagome Higurashi: the monotonous days at school, broken only by the monotonous hours at home. Sometimes it would vary a little. Sometimes she would be lucky enough to see one of her friends in the hallway and exchange a quick hello. But other than that, life was, at the moment, VERY dull. During her junior year in high school you would think that life would have more meaning, but after weeks of classes, in which not ONE of her friends were in, Kagome was getting quite bored and listless.

Heading toward the bus that would take her home, Kagome, being the lucky girl that she is, ran into dear, sweet, loveable, dense, boring Hojo. Ahh, yes. Hojo.

"Higurashi! I'm glad I caught you before you left!" he said.

"Oh, yes Hojo. Can I help you?" asked Kagome, putting an obviously fake smile. It's not that she didn't like Hojo. It's just that he didn't interest her, and he didn't seem to get that. Besides, he had that look on his face that just screamed like me! Go out with me!

'Oh no! What excuse can I give him this time? I already used up helping my brother, Souta with homework. Already said that I had to wash my hair, can't use the 'have to go home and cook dinner' excuse. I should have saved the shopping excuse instead of using it yesterday.....ohhhh,' Kagome thought nervously. Unfortunately Hojo was oblivious to her rather forced smile and continued on happily.

"Ano, I was wondering, I know that you're awfully busy most of the time, but I wanted to know if you could, maybe, spare some time tonight and we could go see a movie, or something?" Hojo asked in the most annoying way possible. He shuffled his feet, poked his fingers together, and basically fidgeted throughout the whole invite. And while it was kind of cute, his shyness, it was infuriating at the same time. True, that could be due to the fact that he had been rejected countless times, but he should have gotten the hint by now, so it was his won fault that he was putting himself through this

Kagome sighed with relief. This time she had a valid reason to say no tonight. Her mother was out at a painting workshop and wouldn't be home until around 9:00 and Souta was at a friend's house for the night. Mama wanted Kagome home so she could call every once in a while to check up on her.

"Hojo-kun, I really would like to, but my mother wants me home tonight," she said. Looking at his crestfallen face, she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Really, it wasn't his fault that he was clueless. And he really was one of her friends; she just didn't like him in that way. Sighing for what she was about to do, she cursed her over compassionate heart.

"But, you could call me and we could talk for a while, I really am sorry, but that is the best that I can do," she said. Hojo's rather dejected face lit up with surprise, quickly turning to pleasure as he registered the compromise.

"That would be great, Higurashi! I'll call around 5:00! OK? Oh, you better got on your bus they are about to leave. I'll talk to you later, bye!" he shouted as he raced towards the bike rack. Kagome gave him one last glance and a wave, feeling a wave of upcoming doom to the promised phone call. She quickly ran up the steps of her bus, just as the doors closed.

Her over energetic friends; Eri, Ayumi, and Yuuka; greeted her by dragging her into a seat and barraging her with questions about her sanity, her dwindling social life, her lack of affirmative responses to a certain simple-minded someone, and a rather hesitant question about her sexual preferences.

"You guys! I am not a lesbian!" Kagome blushed from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes, "How could you even think that? And you call yourselves my friends!"

"Oh," shrieked Ayumi, who had in fact been the one to pose the ridiculous question, "I'm sorry, it's just that you've rejected every offer to go on a date from Hojo, and every other boy that's ever asked. What were we supposed to think?"

"Well, you shouldn't have just assumed. I mean, it's just that none of the guys here interest me, I still like men!" Kagome said, with a slight panic to her voice. 'Oh, I just hope this doesn't go around school...' The three chatting girls continued to ramble on, once the little misunderstanding had been cleared up. Kagome listened with half-hearted interest while she watched the scenery go by. You could hardly find any trees in the city. The only real mass of trees was in back of her house. Most of the trees had been cut down to be used as wood for all of the houses that lined the street. The occasional tree that one did happen to glimpse looked thin and sickly. Leaves all splotched and yellow from the acid rain, and branches thin and weak from lack of nourishment. The forest behind her house wasn't in much better shape, either. Sure, there were some trees that looked like they hadn't seen too much pollution, but the forest was just an overall sickly sight. But, it still had its good days. In the morning when the sun just barely rose over the trees, casting the leaves into a dark green shadow, and the sun's rays poked through to shine on the grass and be reflected off of the morning dew, it would highlight the base of the trees and make them look strong and healthy. That was the best part about where she lived. She could be as surrounded in nature as one could get in this part of Massachusetts.

Her musings were interrupted as her stop appeared, and she had to get off of the bus. She waved a cheerful goodbye to her friends and started on the long walk up to her house. Her thoughts barely interrupted her heavy pondering lasting her all the way up the street and into her house.

As per usual, there was nothing to do. No one was on AIM, all of the after school sitcoms were stupid, not worth the effort to turn on the TV, and probably reruns anyways. Hojo was not due to call for another two hours, Buyo, Kagome's sickeningly obese cat was asleep on the couch, homework was not an option until 10:00 tonight, when she was supposed to go to bed, she wasn't all that hungry because her stomach had been acting weird for about a month, refusing to take much of anything, and throwing her sense of smell for a loop. The thought of food right now made her stomach churn. She supposed that she could go and take a walk. They had only moved into this house a month ago; after their old one was infested with termites so badly, that it would be just cheaper to buy a new one, so they moved to the house down the street. She hadn't really gotten the chance to explore the woods, or rather, patch of trees in the back of the house yet, so she decided that she could go for a walk through the scrap of trees in the back yard and see if she could find anything interesting.

Before Kagome went out, she went upstairs to change out of her school cloths. She put on knee-length jeans, with a nice woven leather belt. For a shirt, she had a nice form fitting white Tee shirt with a picture of a kitten with a halo on the front that said "I don't bite...", and on the back there was a picture of the same kitten with a devilish grin and horns with flames all around, and words that said "hard." It was her favorite shirt and she just loved the little kitten on the front.

With that done, she brushed her hair and put it up in a high pony tail and headed downstairs. She slipped on some backless shoes and trudged towards the door. A pathetic meow made her look down at Buyo who was waiting at the door to be let out.

"Fine, you pathetic excuse for a cat. I don't know why I care so much...." she said with a half hearted sigh. She opened the door and the cat shot out in front of her and dashed down the steps, nearly making Kagome fall face-first down said steps. Grumbling about fat cats and doors that should be on the ground, Kagome turned to the left and went to the back of the house.

To say the least, it was a disappointment. Not only was there virtually no animal life visible to the naked eye, but there was absolutely nothing of interest within the confines of her property. On, she had looked. Haltingly at first, but then with a desperation born from the extremely bored. And her search had turned up with nothing. So, with a depressed sigh, Kagome turned towards home, looking for that insanely fat cat so she could feed it its dinner that Kagome was sure it didn't need because one of her socks had gone missing when she went upstairs to change.

Movement in the corner of her eye made Kagome turn her head. For a second she thought she saw the furry feline so she headed off to the right. Lo, and behold, it wasn't the cat. But Kagome did see something that jerked her spirits up from their currently low altitude. A rather old, and box looking well sat innocently in the middle of a small clearing, small plants bursting around the base and nearly obstructing it from view. Surprisingly enough (AN: note the sarcasm) Kagome decided to go and investigate the odd protrusion.

As Kagome neared the well a furry feline sat unnoticed by its owner. Its stomach hurt rather badly from eating a white fluffy thing on the floor. Sure, it looked tasty at the time, and indeed it was very tasty. But the side effects were not at all in agreement with the cat's tummy. Wanting comfort from the only available source, Buyo darted out of his hiding place to wind himself around his master's legs. Now, being a cat, he did not take into consideration the forward momentum of the girl, nor did he observe the slightly forward tilt of his master's torso. So, it is quite logical to assume that when Buyo shot forward, he did not attempt to trip Kagome. However, it is also quite logical to assume that that was indeed the affect of the felines afore mentioned actions.

Leaning down to look into the well, Kagome felt something curl around her legs, and as already stated, tripped and fell head first into the well. Kagome did not see and sparkles and shimmers that would indicate the presence of water in this particular well, nor did she even see the bottom, so when Kagome tripped into the well, she did the only thing that she could think of to do, or what anyone could think of to do in her position. She screamed. She just knew that she would break something, and it was hours until her mother could get home, and her house was so far from anyone else that there was no hope of rescue until her mother came home five hours later. So, she squeezed her eyes shut and just kept screaming.

Waiting for the inevitable painful thud and crunch of her bones being torn apart, and eyes closed, Kagome did not notice the pink light that glowed around her, and her screaming covered the faint tinkling noise that seemed to come with the light. She did notice, however, the light thud of her knees hitting the bottom of the well. The unexpectedly gentle landing startled her enough that she stopped screaming. She had no broken bones, and she was, overall, perfectly fine. However, that was not to last long, because with as loud as she was screaming before, someone was bound to have heard her.

"Hey! Are you some kind of witch?"

** AN:** Ok, this is my first fic, and it has been a long time before I got up the motivation to write it. I've had this idea playing around in my head for a long time and I hope you like it. It was inspired by Talon Skydragon's story "Fireflies in the dark" it's really good and I'm kind of sad that TS isn't writing it anymore. Read it and review it, and maybe TS will write another chapter if she gets enough reviews.... So anyways, please enjoy my amateur attempts at a story.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha, or any other related characters. I don't own much of anything, so it would be a waste of both of our time if you sued me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Way Back When**

**By: Moon Turnip**

**Chapter 2**

Now, there are several situations in life where one is able to get away with a look of pure confusion, and hesitant stuttering. This situation, having never occurred to anyone of note, was not put on the list; but could you blame her? She had just fallen through a very deep well, only to come to a soft landing at the bottom. Then she looks up to see a person asking her if she was a witch! Like it was a perfectly reasonable question!

"I said are you some kind of witch?" said the man, because that's what the voice sounded like.

"Uh...." was Kagome's eloquent reply. Kagome heard something akin to a snort and a rope was tossed down. She gathered enough wits to determine that the rope was for getting her out of the well. So, she grabbed on and was hauled up quickly, only to be jumped on the minute her shoulders cleared the lip of the well.

"Ok! Now we know that you're a witch! Only a witch would dress as shamelessly as you and in such outlandish fabrics!" the same man said.

Kagome looked around, rather stunned. She was in a small town. There were small, old looking houses lining the 'street', which was nothing more than a dirt path. The well was in a large cleared area which was probably the center of the town. Needless to say, this was not here before. People in brown home-spun cloths were surrounding Kagome and the well. All of the women had on some kind of bonnet, and everyone wore an expression of hatred and fear.

'Oh, God. They can't be serious when they say I'm a witch!' Kagome thought, 'but they're all dressed like... peasants... or, the early settlers!' Every history lesson on the early settlers flashed through her mind, and one thought emerged and kept repeating itself in her jumbled thoughts. DO NOT LET THEM THINK THAT I AM A WITCH!

"Uh, w-why would you think that?" she asked, oh-so-innocently.

"Don't deny it _witch_ we all saw the magic light coming out of the well!"

"What light? That light wasn't me!"

"Yes it was!"

"How do you know that? Hn? M-maybe it was a different witch that put me there and made the light appear just so you would think that I'm the witch?" Kagome frantically asked, hoping that if they were stupid enough to believe in witches on such circumstantial evidence, then they would buy that excuse.

"You lie!" well toss that idea. "Mr.Johanson's cow has been sick for a week, and then you appear here! It can't be coincidence!" Kagome gave the man a flat look, the one that says 'I can't believe that load of crap just came out of your mouth."

"I saw the same pink light around the cow just last night!" screamed some equally filled with crap woman in the background.

"Cage her! Tomorrow we burn her with the other witch!" shouted the man.

"YEAH!" screamed the mob of angry villagers. Kagome's hands were tied behind her back, and she was pushed forward, making her stumble. She did NOT appreciate this. After a very shocking and dramatic ten minutes, she was not in the best of moods. Two men grabbed her arms, dragging her through the violent, screaming crowd. Kagome struggled to get free; shouts of "Kill the witch!" and "Burn the evil one!" scared her to death. Pun not intended.

'Oh. My. God. They're going to _actually_ kill me!' suddenly Kagome started to shriek and struggle. She didn't want to die! Not this way! Not somewhere that wasn't home, with stupid superstitious people that were going to burn her! She struggled and kicked, and bit, and swore, but the two men holding her were too strong.

They led her over to a very dismal looking building that didn't even deserve to be called a building. There were gaping, rotting holes in the high thatched roof, there were no windows and the door was just barely hanging on its hinges. The door frame was rotted and flaking away. Basically, the building looked ready to fall down. Kagome didn't know what they were thinking. If she could see the dismal state of the little but, then they surely could. How did they expect to keep her there?

'Oh, that's how,' Kagome mentally sighed, still kicking and screaming for all she was worth, as they tied her ankles to her hands in back of her. Then one of her captors threw her into the hut and slammed the door.

A pair of golden eyes watched the scene from high up in the trees. The wind shifted, blowing his long, white hair in his face. The girl was different. She would do.

Sango shifted in the dark, too tired to cry anymore. Too tired to scream, too tired to struggle, too tired to sleep. Her brown eyes dully stared at the sky, not really seeing anything. Grief shadowed her thoughts. She was alone. Her family was dead. She would be dead soon. She didn't want to die, just escape this God-awful pain.

Flashes of her brother and father ran through her mind. Her brother, hanging out of the window, shrieking in terror as the flames consumed the first floor, shooting out the windows to lick the window frames of the floors above. Her father, holding her back, yelling at her to stay as he scaled the side of the house in an effort to save her brother. The bottom walls, as they collapsed; bringing down the house in inferno of flames and sparks, the heat radiating from the mass of flames so intensely that for twenty feet, it was too painful to bear.

The sound of screaming and shouting of angry villagers brought Sango back from her painful musings.

'Oh no! This is it; they're coming to kill me. I don't want to die!' she thought in anguish. She tried shuffling into a corner, but, tied up as she was, she didn't get far.

The door swung open and Sango cringed at the sudden brightness. Expecting rough hands on her at any moment, she squeezed her eyes shut and tensed. There was a thud and a scream from somewhere near the door. Sango opened her eyes and met another brown pair, surrounded by a dirty, scratched, and bleeding face. Her black hair fanned out, sticking to her neck and forehead. Her strange cloths were dirty and torn in some places. Her hands and feet were bound together behind her back, much like Sango.

Kagome lay panting in the dim interior of the hut. The floor was cold dirt and strewn with pieces of the thatched roof. The only other thing in the hut was the girl lying in the corner. She looked scared and beaten. Looking around, Kagome found the nearest wall and started to shimmy over to it. This proved to be no easy task. The rocks on the floor cut into her skin, snagged her shirt, and pulled her hair, but Kagome was determined to regain some of the control that she had lost. She reached the wall and, using the wall as a balance, she pushed herself against it to rest on her knees, panting heavily, she crawled over to the girl, nearly loosing the precarious balance several times.

The girl, still staring in silent wonder at Kagome was startled when Kagome positioned herself so that her hands were able to reach Sango's hands. Slowly, with fumbling and shaking hands, Kagome was able to undo the ties that held the girl. When she was free, Kagome collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily from the stress of the day and her recent exertions.

Sango continued to lay there, stretching out only when Kagome had taken off the ropes; confusion evident on her face by her creased forehead. The silence was broken by Kagome.

"Hey," she said. Sango sat up and looked at Kagome.

"How about me now?" Kagome asked, still breathing hard. Sango nodded and began to work at Kingdome's ties. They were tied tightly and were hard to get off. Kingdome's hands were changing from an angry red to an abused purple. With renewed fervor, Sango managed to undo some knots and loosen the ropes.

Kagome sighed in relief. The topes had been quite painful and it nearly killed her to make her way ever to the girl that was diligently removing the constraints from her hands and feet. When they were removed, Kagome sat up and rubbed her wrists that were already starting to bruise.

An awkward silence descended o the pair. Both didn't want to initiate conversation, but for different reasons. Sango was nervous of the girl because of her strange cloths. Kagome was in pain and was afraid that if she shattered the silence then the other girl would come to her senses and call her a witch and attack her. Sure, she had just freed the girl, but if you had been having the day that she'd been having, then you would have been paranoid too.

Sango observed the other girl rubbing her wrists. She had a tight, form fitting top on, and it appeared to be the only top she had. She wore some kind of pair of breeches, like a man, that didn't even go all the way down! You could see her ankles! She had strange shoes that showed off her ankles and looked like they could be slipped on and off quite easily. The girl was strange, and obviously not from here. But what to do now? Should she talk to her? What would she say? Was she a witch? What were those cloths? Sango's musings were interrupted again, this time by Kagome.

"E-herm Um, my name's Kagome. Uh... do, do you know where we are?" Kagome asked.

"We're in a holding cell. We've been accused of being witches and tomorrow they will burn us," Sango replied with a flat voice. "I'm Sango, by the way."

"I see," Kagome sighed. "Well, I don't know about you, but I really don't want to die. So, I'll just get us out of here." Kagome smiled and shakily got to her feet. Her feet were still recovering from having the circulation cut off, so she was a little wobbly. Kagome teetered over to the door and opened it. Loud barks greeted her and two frighteningly large dogs stood in front of the doorway, blocking any and all escape. Kagome quickly shut the door and retreated to the back of the hut, as far away from the door as she could. She gave a half hearted laugh and said, "Well, I'm out of ideas. Sorry."

"That's fine," replied Sango. "I've been here for a week, and haven't even managed to move very far." She sighed. Kagome yawned and started to push a pile of thatch into something resembling a nest. Then she moved over a bit and started to make another pile. She was tired and wanted to sleep, but it was cold out. Even though she was sure that something was living in that pile of thatch, and it smelt worse than her chemistry class, she preferred it to the cold, hard ground. There wasn't enough thatch to make the second pile, which was for Sango, so Kagome found some rocks and threw them at the roof. She managed to knock some down and brought it to pile number two.

"Here, sleep on this. It's better than the ground," Kagome said, offering the larger of the two piles, since the rocks really didn't bring down all that much more thatch.

"Thank you," said Sango. The tow settled down as the sun started to sink lower into the horizon. Both were wondering if tonight would be their last night alive. Kagome was tremendously frightened. Never before had she been in any position that her life was threatened. Her world had been turned upside down in a matter of hours, and no one was here to answer her questions. She was confused, tired, hungry, hurt, and cold. She wanted nothing more to curl up in her own bed and listen to her mother hum as she went around the house; cleaning up a bit before she went to bed. That brought on another thought. Mom should be home in a couple of hours. She'll be worried. Oh, I hope she'll be okay. Try as she might, Kagome couldn't keep her mind awake. The steady breathing coming from Sango indicated that she was asleep, and Kagome's poor abused body screamed for rest. So, with a sigh, Kagome shifted to get comfortable and quickly fell asleep.

**AN:** Ok, that's chapter two. Please read my profile if anything looks uncannily familiar.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any related characters


	3. Chapter 3

**Way Back When**

**By: Moon Turnip**

**Chapter 3**

Inuyasha sat in his tree and contemplated the events of the past days. How could his father side with those white ba$tards? The invaders that intrude on the land and actually have the nerve to claim it as theirs! You can't just _claim_ land! Like it's a thing! Inuyasha looked at the sunset and scowled at it, like it was the cause of all his problems. His father said that he had to learn responsibility. How that connected to the previous argument, he'll never know. His father wanted to make peace with the invaders. Keh! Not a fu©king chance! How the hell did his father expect things to go peacefully, when everyone _knew_ that the invaders thought of them as evil? He didn't know what his father was thinking....

Flash Back

"How can you side with them? Do you even see what they're doing to the land? They fu©king stroll in here like they own it, and destroy half a forest to make their fu©king 'farms' and 'houses'. They shouldn't be here!" Inuyasha shouted angrily. Couldn't his father see that they were destroying their home?

"I'm not siding with them, Inuyasha. I am simply saying that there are more peaceful ways to go about this change, and if one of them works, then it would be in everyone's best interests to use it," Inutaisho stated calmly.

"You fu©king _are_ siding with them! Why do you want to fu©king protect them, when they invade in on things they can't possibly understand? We have to force them out before they do something that could be devastating! If we don't get rid of them they _will_ do something that won't be good!" Inuyasha yelled, desperate for his father to see his point of view.

"Inuyasha, there are ways to hide ourselves and things that are precious to us. There are barriers that we can construct and-"

"That's the fu©king coward's way out!" Inuyasha yelled as he jumped up and pointed an accusatory finger at his father. His face was flushed and his golden eyes were bright with anger. "I have no idea why the hell you won't fight them, you know we can defeat the ba$tards, I just can't understand why your acting like a fu©king cowar-"

"_Inuyasha_!" Inutaisho hissed; uh, oh. Inuyasha had obviously struck a very dangerous nerve. "You forget yourself," Inutaisho continued in a deadly whisper. "You are hot tempered and narrow minded. You refuse to see any alternative to violence when dealing with a problem. This is not the person I raised you to be. You obviously lack the responsibility you need to survive."

"When did this turn into a fu©king lecture on my responsibility?" Inuyasha demanded angrily.

"When you failed to realize that violence is not the only solution. You need more responsibility and I'll be dammed if I let you get away with this behavior for long," Inutaisho said, his calm returning from his previous outburst. "I will be gone for a couple of days; you have command of the tribe until then. When I return, I will have a job for you to do, so be on the lookout."

"But-"

"You are dismissed," Inutaisho interrupted. Inuyasha stared at him for a few seconds, and then stomped out of the tipi angrily with a final "Keh!" over his shoulder. So he wanted him to learn responsibility, did he? He said he had a job for Inuyasha when he got back. That was never good. 'I wonder what he's plotting' Inuyasha thought as he went bounding into the trees. He needed to think.

End Flash Back

Inuyasha shook his head, trying to forget that argument. It hadn't been one of his better moments. He didn't _like_ loosing his temper, although it happened far too often. He always said things that he'd regret later. A familiar scent reached his nose and broke through the unhappy trance that had settled on hem.

"Go away, Kikyo. I don't want to talk," Inuyasha grumbled.

"I didn't say anything," Kikyo replied evenly. Her emotionless eyes gazed up at the disgruntled hanyou.

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed. He returned to gazing at the sunset. He always liked the sunset better than the sunrise. Sunrise was just so... evil. Not literally, of course. It's just that no one should be awake to see the sunrise. It's just... unnatural. He was never in a good mood when he saw the sunrise. Being awake at a time like that did that to him.

"You seemed upset when you stormed off last night. Is there any particular reason why?" Kikyo asked.

"None of your damn business, wench," Inuyasha replied grumpily.

"Don't talk to me like that, Inuyasha. You know better than that." She said sharply.

Inuyasha sighed and dropped out of his tree. "Sorry," he said softly as he pulled Kikyo into a light embrace. "I had an argument with my father again. Our... views... differ, and I can't seem to keep my temper whenever we... discuss the subject of the invaders," Inuyasha said, gently stroking Kikyo's back. Kikyo pulled away, though, to look him in the eyes.

"I agree with you, Inuyasha. The settlers are invading land, and they are not welcome. They need to be dealt with, and soon. Before something happens."

"I know, but I can't do anything about it. Besides my father expressly forbidding me to harm any of the invaders, I can't go anywhere until he gets back," Inuyasha complained.

"Don't whine Inuyasha. Your father just needs some persuading. I'm sure you can handle it," she said. Inuyasha tried to pull Kikyo into another hug, but she pulled away. "You need to go back to the village, and I need to gather some more herbs. I'll see you later," Kikyo said softly. Inuyasha nodded and walked back to camp. He did have duties to attend to, now that he was substituting for his father. He turned and looked back at Kikyo. She was bending down and gently prying some roots out of the ground. Her straight black hair shimmered in the dying light, creating a natural glow that, somehow, seemed to not touch the young medicine woman. Inuyasha sighed. He loved her, but she was so damn cold and distant, always putting her work before anything else. He turned around and made his way back towards camp, his ears drooping dejectedly.

About twenty miles away from the fuming hanyou, Inutaisho strode around looking rather miffed. He had been at this for _hours_ and he still hadn't found that damn woman. That's it. She was avoiding him. Well, then if she was going to be that way, then he would just sit down and wait. He knew that she knew he was there, and he knew that she knew he knew... wait.

Inutaisho sat down on a rock and tried to calm down. It would do no good to begin the meeting in a temper. Previous dealings with the old miko gave him enough sense to know that. He sat there on that rock for quite a while until he sensed a presence behind him.

"Kaede-baa-san, you're late." Inutaisho called out without turning around.

"I am neither late, nor am I early. I arrived exactly when I meant to," she said huffily. "I see that ye be wanting to have a chat about your son. Please, follow me and we shall discuss your troubles," Kaede said kindly. Inutaisho turned and followed the old miko to a pleasant looking hut, not too far away. 'Alright, I know I passed that tree before, and that clump of leaves, this hut was not here a while ago.' But rather than ponder the mysterious appearance of the hut, he obediently sat down, when indicated, and watched as Kaede prepared some tea.

"Now, what seems to be troubling ye?" Kaede asked kindly. Inutaisho looked thoughtful, considering how he wanted to word his request.

"Inuyasha is becoming... restless. I guess. I think that he needs to settle down. He doesn't think things through, and the only person who can calm him down is Kikyo, but I don't trust her," Inutaisho outlined his problems for the old miko.

"If you do not trust her, then why do you let her stay?" Kaede asked.

"She is a skilled medicine woman, and her talents are heavily relied upon in the tribe. I am not about to deprive my people of what could one day be their only chance of survival, just for my own personal reasons," Inutaisho explained.

"I agree with you, and if you will listen to an old woman's advice, I will tell you what you wish to know," Kaede said wisely. Inutaisho nodded and she continued, "Inuyasha does indeed need to learn responsibility, but it will be a long time before he settles down. He will soon have a heavy burden to bear and he will need someone to help him bear it. Kikyo is not suitable for this task, and you know that she would abandon Inuyasha to carry it on his own, and he would let her. The woman to help Inuyasha will be different, and Inuyasha will need her to be," Kaede said.

"I see. Where will he find her?" Inutaisho asked.

"He will not, and if he did, he would not take her. You will find her on your return trip, and you will need to make an effort to look. Search every town of the settlers that you can find. You will know her when you see her," Kaede said, getting up. "It is now time for you to leave. I have work to do, and you need to find your son's woman. I hope you gave a fruitful search."

"Thank you, Kaede-baa-san," Inutaisho waved a cheerful goodbye and stepped out of the hut, and promptly disappeared.

In all honesty, Inutaisho was surprised when he found the girl so easily. Of course she was different. Blue pants that clung to her legs, no women were ever seen wearing that. And the way she fought against her captors was admirable. She kicked two men in the groin, almost gave one of the men holding her a black eye, and managed to kick two women with pitchforks unconscious. Of course she was in some kind of trouble; the mob of angry villagers gave that away. All he had to do was rescue her from her prison. No, sneak her out of the village. She could get out of the prison herself, the thing was so rotted and worn. But he wouldn't be able to touch her. That was the tricky part. When they left the village, she would be a prisoner of sorts. He couldn't take her as his prisoner, because then Inuyasha had the right to refuse her when he offered her as a gift. No, Inuyasha would have to be the first one to touch her.

The girl opened the door and squeaked when the massive dogs posted outside barked and growled at her. He was surprised that she was out of the ropes she was tied in; those were very tight ropes, and she hadn't exactly been able to reach them. Inutaisho laughed slightly at the frightened look on her face when she slammed the door. Okay, so first order of business, he needed to get rid of the dogs. And the language barrier would prove to be an amusing challenge. He heard shuffling and a couple of rocks were thrown through the roof, knocking down some thatch every once and a while. The dogs noticed the movement and started barking again. Well, he wouldn't be able to do anything until nightfall, so he might as well get comfortable. Inutaisho shifted in his perch on the tree. He only had a couple of hours until sunset, and he could use those hours to plan his escape route, and how to travel the day and a half walk, for humans, without touching the girl. Tonight would prove to be interesting.

**AN:** Whew! That was hard! shudders and it absolutely disgusted me to do that touching scene between Inuyasha and Kikyo. I HATE KIKYO! So for anyone who is wondering, and if you didn't get it in the story, this is an Inuyasha/Kagome romance.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any related characters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Way Back When**

**By: Moon Turnip**

**Chapter 4**

Dream

Kagome smiled brightly as she walked in the door to her house. She had had a good day at school, she didn't remember going, and she didn't know what she did. But she knew, like all people in dreams know, that she had a good day. So this put her in a very happy mood.

"Kagome, dear. You're home! How was your day?" exclaimed Mama.

"Great! I had a good day," replied Kagome.

"Well that's great dear. M'ate, ko we ne habate?" asked Mama.

"Huh?" Kagome asked. Like most people in dreams, she was not aware that this was a dream; but also like most people in dreams, she accepted the strange and unnatural occurrences that happened. If a flock of hens were to walk by on the fence outside, she would probably not even give them a second glance. That's why when her mother came over with an agitated face on, pulled a pot of water out of nowhere, and began to pour it on her head while saying "Ko we ne habate?" it didn't really bother her. What did bother her was when her mother threw the pot, which had changed into a large, heavy, metal frying pan, on the floor, making a loud noise and jarring her out of her fantasy world.

End Dream

It was dark. It was cold. It was raining. It was thundering. And there was a very frightening person kneeling over her.

"AHHHHHHH!" Kagome screamed. The figure looked around panicked, trying to make calming motions and looking frantically around. Sango jumped up when Kagome screamed, and looked to find the girl backing against the wall away from a soaking, white haired figure.

"Souwe! Souwe," the figure whispered and put his fingers to his lips.

Sango was confused. She had been woken up from a dream involving someone stroking her forehead, saying "Violin, violin" in an oddly soothing voice. If that wasn't confusing enough, the ducks trying to impersonate dogs on a turning wagon wheel, being spun by a giant frog with boxing gloves was enough to put anyone out of sorts. Sango looked at Kagome and tried to piece together the fragments of her jumbled mind. Villagers, trials, witches, ropes, Kagome, dogs, sleep. Ah, yes. Now she remembered. But wait, what was that white haired person doing here? He was dressed like the savages that liked to raid the villages. Sango got very nervous. What if he was here with the rest of them, and wanted to kill them? She knew that she could defend herself if it came to fighting, but what about Kagome? The girl had been nice to her, after all. It did not go unnoticed that she had been given the larger pile of thatch to sleep on, so Sango felt that she owed the younger looking girl.

Sango struck up a fighting stance and charged at the intruder. He somehow sensed her presence and dodged her swing. Not missing a beat, Sango changed direction and aimed a high kick at his head, which he dodged. Sango threw a quick succession of kicks and punches at him, which he kept dodging. It was amazing. If she wasn't so frightened then she would have wondered how he managed to avoid her blows. Eventually, Sango backed him up into a corner. Her eyes narrowed as she surveyed him. He wasn't even trying to fight back! He didn't even look like he wanted to touch her. He had his hands up and was waving them in front of his face in a peaceful gesture.

"What does he want?" asked a quivering voice from the other side of the hut. The white haired man made shooing motions to Sango indicating that she should back up. She stepped back a couple of feet, and when he made no move to attack, she stepped back more, but didn't relax. This could be a trick after all.

Kagome watched as the white haired man walked in front of her and sat down a few feet away; facing her with his legs crossed. He had his hands still up in front of him, trying to display his intention for peace. He slowly lowered his hands to rest on his knees. Sango stepped closer, reaching out a hand to tap the stranger's shoulder to get his attention. His gaze, which had been trained on the frightened girl, snapped onto Sango. He leaned away from her hand, shaking his head as he frowned.

"I don't think he wants to touch us," said Kagome, earning her the intense gaze of their unexpected visitor, and her fellow captive.

The stranger suddenly held up a hand. He pointed to himself, then shook the finger back and forth in a 'no' gesture. Then he brought up his other hand and touched his finger to it. He gave them a significant look, repeating the action exaggeratedly and hoping they didn't think he was talking about his wrist. Then he pointed to Kagome and, after considering for a moment, Sango.

'The life of this other girl is at stake too. Maybe I should bring her along, as well. It will give Inuyasha's woman some companionship,' Inutaisho thought.

"I'm pretty sure he's trying to say that he won't touch us," Kagome said, calming down when she saw that he meant them no harm.

"Kagome, we can't trust him, he's a savage, an Indian. They raid villages and rape women," Sango said vehemently. This could all be a ploy to get them to trust him, and then when they were out of the village, he would attack.

Inutaisho gave the older girl an annoyed look. Inuyasha's woman was just starting to calm down and trust him, and then that other bitch had to go and say something that got her nervous again. He could smell the fear start to creep into her scent again. Damnit!

Inutaisho held up his hands again, attempting to communicate with the skittish women. He gestured outside, and then slid his finger across his throat. When he met only blank, yet slightly more frightened stares he sighed. This wasn't going as well as he had hoped. He cleared a spot on the floor and drew an angry stick figure person waving something that looked like a pitch fork. Then he drew several more. He pointed to his drawings, and then he gestured outside. Then he pointed to the girls and slid a finger across his throat again.

"I think he's telling us that the villagers want to kill us," said Sango, when Kagome was still trying to puzzle out the stranger's message. The rain poured through the holes in the roof and continued to drench the girls. Kagome; who had fallen through a well, been attacked by angry villagers, had to pull a Houdini getting free from those VERY tight ropes, had to sleep in her cloths on smelly hay, and was now soaking wet; was not in a good mood. So it was understandable, at least to her conscience, when she snapped back, "Well we already _know_ that."

Inutaisho didn't know if they understood or not, but he decided to continue anyways. Misunderstandings could always be cleared up when they learned to communicate better. He stood up and walked to the entrance, then turned around and beckoned them to follow. Kagome stood up to follow, but was held up by Sango.

"What the heck are you doing? He'll rape you and kill you as soon as you're out of the village!" Sango screamed.

"Well, I figure that since I'm going to die if I stay here, anyways, I might as well. He seems peaceful enough, so there's a chance that you're wrong," replied Kagome as she freed herself from Sango's strong grip.

What Kagome said did make sense. If they stayed in the village, they would be burned. hands down, end of story; but if they went with this strange visitor, there was a chance that they could be saved. But why was this savage rescuing them? He couldn't have just been passing by and decided to rescue them out of the goodness of his heart. He wanted something, but what could it be?

Kagome followed the stranger into the downpour; outside stood a horse with a loose bridle. The stranger led the horse over to a stump and indicated that she and Sango, who had just decided that she would go along too, should mount the horse.

Kagome had a little trouble. She had only seen a horse when her family would drive by a farm on those occasional trips to the more open countryside. She had never been within ten feet of a horse, but she saw enough movies to know how to get on one; but they all had saddles....

Kagome stood on the stump and faced the horse. Its back was just even with her shoulders. 'This shouldn't be so hard,' she thought. She put her hands on the horse and jumped a bit to pull herself up. Her hands started to slip, so she shot out a leg to drape over the horse's rear. The result was that Kagome was draped over half of the horse with one leg hooked onto its back, and the other dangling in the air. Using great effort, she pulled herself up to straddle the horse.

Inutaisho was beside himself with amusement. The girl was an absolute amateur! Even children whose head barely reached the horse's withers, with the stump, could mount a horse with more grace than that. She probably couldn't ride then. Damn- they'll be going slower then he expected, which means that he'll be too late to catch up to the tribe before they start the long march south, away from the cold winter temperatures of the north. Double damn.

Sango got onto the horse with practiced ease. She sat in front of Kagome; judging from the foolish way that she got on the horse, she didn't know how to ride, which wasn't too surprising. Most of the village women didn't, and those that did rode sidesaddle. But Sango was not a proper lady, and you couldn't ride sidesaddle with no saddle and a horse slick and wet from the rain.

"Grip the horse with your knees. If you start to fall, hold onto me," Sango warned Kagome.

'Then again, maybe we won't be so late after all,' Inutaisho thought happily. He started walking out of town, gently leading the horse by the reigns; the rain still falling in the darkness around the trio, each lost in their own thoughts. One, hoping that she wasn't right about their rescuer's intentions; one hoping to get dry and warm soon; and one hoping that his son would not hurt him too badly when he arrived.

"Pacing will not make your father arrive sooner, Inuyasha. Besides, you're getting me dizzy."

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed at the shaman. He was seated at the base of a tree a fair distance away from the stirring camp. Tents were being taken down and folded neatly to be attached to the owner's horse/mule/donkey. Fire pits were being cleaned; belongings were being packed, and stowed safely away for the upcoming journey. The tribe was moving south.

The shaman's violet eyes glittered dangerously as he shot out his staff, adorned with various talismans, to entangle into the legs of the irate hanyou, causing him to take an impromptu dive to the ground.

"Dammit Miroku! What the fu was that for?" shouted Inuyasha.

"You were making me dizzy with you're incessant pacing," said Miroku simply.

"Pathetic weak human," Inuyasha muttered as he sat up to gaze in the direction that his father had left.

BONK

"Ow!" yelled Inuyasha as he rubbed the growing bump on his head. He shot an extremely annoyed glare at the monk who settled his staff back against the tree.

"Just because you are impatient, doesn't mean that everyone has to suffer," Miroku said calmly as he shifted his position to avoid a tree root that was digging rather painfully into his leg. "You're father hasn't even been gone for very long."

"He has too," was the pouty reply. "He leaves for Gods know how long, to gods know where, only days before we head south, and doesn't even fuing return in time for the march."

"He must have his reasons." said Miroku calmly.

"And I don't like them. He's never gone off and not told us where he was going before. That means he's plotting something."

Miroku shook his head at his friend, a smile barely concealed behind his placid mask. Only years of knowing the hanyou allowed him to see through the peeved exterior his friend was putting up. They had grown up together, Inuyasha was the Chief's son, and Miroku was the son of the previous Shaman. When his father died, the chief had taken care of Miroku like a son, and he and Inuyasha had grown up like brothers.

Miroku looked up to where Inuyasha was gazing out down the hill that they were situated on.

"Well, speak of the devil," said Miroku. Down the hill, just emerging from the line of trees was Inutaisho. He looked annoyed, dirty, damp, and all in all, like he had had a very bad trip. He stomped up the hill to Inuyasha, looking angry enough to make the turtle that held the world on its back quiver in fear.

The boys were so fixated on the approaching Inu youkai that they did not notice the two women trudging out of the woods behind him. Inutaisho approached the boys and looked at Inuyasha with a frown.

"I hope you're happy. You don't know the frustration I had to put up with for your benefit," Inutaisho growled.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded. He hadn't done anything! No wait..... Nope, nope, and nope. Yeah! What did he do to get his father so off at him?

"Never mind," Inutaisho grumbled. Inutaisho had a very stressful couple of days. First, there had been the storm that turned out to be worse than expected. It had caused a flash flood that they had just barely escaped. Then the horse had gone and stepped in a gopher hole, rendering the thing useless, and almost falling on top of Inuyasha's woman. Then, if the fates hadn't been cruel enough to him, they had to be attacked by the neighboring tribe. It had been a rather bloody battle. He had won, of course, but the women were rather traumatized. Add this to the general feeling of discomfort, and you had one ticked off demon.

The girls were in much worse shape than Inutaisho. Kagome's shirt was in tatters, barely covering her. Her shoes were flopping and rendered almost useless; her pants were shredded from thorns and brambles, and caked with blood and mud from that horrible battle. She still couldn't get the image of those lifeless bodies out of her mind. She was cold and hungry and tired. Their 'savior' only let them rest when they collapsed form exhaustion, only let them eat when they passed a bush with something edible on it, barely let them stop for...necessities- and it had been one heck of a puzzle to get him to understand her request with out looking foolish or stupid. Actually, Kagome was worse off than Inutaisho; she didn't have demon strength or abilities, so she was nearly collapsing from exhaustion.

Sango had faired little better. She was in excellent shape, but even she couldn't travel for so long with little sleep and less food without feeling the affects. Her skirts were extremely heavy in the rain, making her wish that she had a pair of those light breeches that Kagome wore, despite the added chill she would get. The lack of food and rest was making her dizzy and she was cold, damp, and dirty. Her other cloths faired better, due to their tough make, and numerous layers. Her blouse wasn't bad. Her outer skirt was beyond repair, and her shoes were barely still on her feet. Both girls were exhausted and when Inutaisho stopped to talk to someone, they didn't much care who it was, as long as they weren't attacking, and they looked friendly enough. All they cared about was the fact that their strange traveling companion had stopped, so they took full advantage of the fact and promptly collapsed on the ground once they had gotten within ten feet of him.

By the time the girls had reached Inutaisho, they had been noticed.

"Oi, Dad. Who are they?" asked a suspicious Inuyasha. Inutaisho turned to notice the sprawled forms on the ground.

"They are the reason why I was gone. I would tend to them, but I would like to change out of these cloths, burn them, and get cleaned up. If Miroku would take her," he said, pointing to Sango, "and you would take her," pointing to Kagome, "and put them somewhere where they can rest, that'd be great."

Inuyasha and Miroku nodded and went to the women. Miroku picked up Sango, grunting at the dead weight; and Inuyasha picked up Kagome to sling her over his shoulder and headed back to Camp.

"Oh, Inuyasha, Miroku. Take good care of them. Since you were the first to touch them, they're you're responsibility. Miroku knows all about that, Inuyasha, so he should be able to fill you in," said Inutaisho as he walked away leaving two silently gaping boys in his wake.

It was several moments before Inuyasha regained the ability to speak. "What the _fu_!!" he cursed.

"It seems you were right," Miroku said, just barely coming out of his own shock. "Inutaisho was plotting something."

The rain pounded on the roof of the small home where the Higurashi's lived, the winds blowing and howling in the cold night air. The weather seemed to echo the inhabitants of the house. Ms.Higurashi listened to the police officer at the door, the lights of his cruiser flashing in the background. Souta hovered behind his mother, clinging to her leg, tears coursing down his face.

"M'am, we've searched the entire wooded area, and the surrounding town. She's nowhere to be found. We'll continue the search, but it's highly doubtful that she's still even in the state right now." Ms.Higurashi nodded and a strangled sob escaped her throat. First her husband, then her father had died. Now, her only daughter had gone missing. Souta buried his face in his mother's leg and let loose more ragged sobs that shook his small frame. The police officer shook his head and shifted from foot to foot. "I'm sorry, M'am, but that's all we can do right now." Ms.Higurashi nodded and closed the door against the torrents of rain. She bent down and embraced her son, her only child now, and they both cried for the wonderful daughter and sister that they had lost only days ago...

**AN:** In this chapter, we finally get to read some of Inuyasha's tribe's language. It's not a real language, and it has no grammatical structure, and words will probably change. If I, by some stroke of insane coincidence, make him say a word that is... offensive in another language, please remember that they are not talking in that language. It is a made up language, and it was not made to offend you.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or any related characters.


	5. Chapter 5

**Way Back When**

**By: Moon Turnip**

**Chapter 5**

There is nothing like a complete shock to wipe your mind of any coherent thought. Eventually, your body comes out of shock and starts to carry out the task it has been asked to do, while the brain stutters, whines, and rages like a child. When the brain reconnects itself with the body, it often finds itself in the middle of a task that it has not noticed its body was doing. Inuyasha was in just such a situation. While his brain has been reeling in the shock and absolute unfairness of his father's latest scheme, his body had, quite traitorously, gathered up the unconscious girl and headed towards one of the two unassembled tents in the encampment with Miroku tagging along. As Inuyasha was setting his new charge down, his brain decided that it was tired of whining to itself and wanted to whine to someone whom it could at least direct it's whining at, if not have the target actually listen to it.

"Miroku," Inuyasha said in a quiet voice. He didn't want his father to come in and yell at him for yelling and not taking his responsibilities seriously, plus all of the combined yelling would wake up the exhausted girl lying on the floor, and he didn't want a distressed girl to deal with also. "What the hell just happened?"

"Well, you were there weren't you? We have to care for these women now."

"No duh, numbskull, but why do we have to? Dad brought them here, dragging then through all seven kinds of hell by the looks of them, and he just dumps them with us?" whined Inuyasha.

"According to your father, he hasn't laid a hand on them the entire time, although how he managed to keep his hands off of such fine women is beyond me," began Miroku.

"Fing lech," Inuyasha muttered. "What does that have to do with us having to take care of them?" he asked. Miroku _was_ the current Shaman after all, and he should know stuff like this.

"When this tribe used to attack other tribes, sometimes prisoners were taken. The rule was, that the first to touch a prisoner had claim to them, and only they could touch them. Then, they could do whatever they wanted with them. Sometimes prisoners were used as gifts, sometimes as slaves, some were young enough to be integrated into tribal customs and eventually became a member of the tribe. Other tribes apply this custom to villages of the settlers when they raid one," Miroku recited.

"But that was years ago; our tribe doesn't do stuff like that anymore; so why would my father take them as prisoners and stick them with us, especially two of the invaders!" Inuyasha said, gesturing at the unconscious girls, and snarling with disgust.

"I know as little of his motives as you do, who can say why your father does things?" Miroku said as he pulled off the ruined outer skirt that his charge wore. She was shivering with cold and had some pretty nasty scrapes on her ankles, and her arms. "Inuyasha, will you go pay a visit to Kikyo and get some salve to treat the girls' injuries?"

"You want me to leave you alone, in a tent with two helpless women, while I go and try to explain to Kikyo why I need salve for an injured woman that I have to treat?" Inuyasha asked, giving Miroku a look that clearly said that he was not in the mood to play Miroku's little games. He was as all hell that his father had tricked him and he was just barely holding on to his temper. If Miroku didn't leave now, Inuyasha was liable to cause the Shaman some serious harm.

Miroku understood the look and held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Fine, fine; I'll go and get some," he said, and walked out of the tent grumbling something about touchy hanyous, and how he didn't get the respect he deserved.

When Miroku left, Inuyasha turned his attention back to the two girls. The one on the right, Miroku's woman just lay there, breathing lightly as she slept. She was one of the dirty invaders, traipsing all around the land like they owned it. Inuyasha curled his lip in disgust and looked at his charge. She had long wavy hair that went to her mid back, crusted with mud from her long journey. Her cheeks were bright red with cold and smeared with mud and... Was that blood? Inuyasha leaned in to look at her face. 'No, it's not her blood,' Inuyasha thought, and muscles that he didn't know he had tensed relaxed.

She looked different; and smelled different too. She didn't smell like the other girl, like she lived in one of those 'villages' they were always filthy and packed with humans. She smelled like a grove of apple trees, just before a storm. Inuyasha roamed his eyes over her body, looking for injuries. Her cloths were basically non-existent they were torn so badly, giving view to a delicate waist. He was getting lost in her scent, slightly tinged with unwashed body as it was. It was mesmerizing. Even Kikyo didn't enter his thoughts as he stared at the girl's stomach and breathed in her perfectly original smell.

He was quickly brought back to reality as she shifted and her cold hand made contact with his exposed foot. He quickly jerked it back in surprise. 'Damn! That's cold!' he thought nervously. He removed his shirt, the cold not affecting him, and draped it over the freezing woman. The shirt, infused with his body heat, quickly warmed her up and stopped the small tremors coursing through her body.

A few more moments passed, filled only with the breathing of the three inhabitants of the tent, before Miroku reentered the tent bearing a pot of salve and several rolls of bandages.

"What did Kikyo say?" Inuyasha asked. Miroku grimaced at the name; he didn't like her very much.

"I didn't tell her that you had a woman to take care of," Inuyasha shot him a glare, but Miroku smirked right back. "I said that Inutaisho needed some."

"Whatever," snorted Inuyasha. Miroku's eyes slid to the covered form of Inuyasha's woman.

"Feeling a bit more tolerant, I see," Miroku said slyly.

"Shut up, you, and hand me those bandages," Inuyasha said impatiently. Miroku set down the pot of salve in between the girls and sat on the opposite side of his charge. He tossed Inuyasha some bandages, and began to unravel one of his. All was silent in the tent as each went about their newly acquired tasks. Miroku decided that the slight rustle of cloth wasn't enough noise, so he struck up a conversation.

"I hope you remember what tonight is," Miroku said.

"What's tonight?" Inuyasha asked, not looking up from where he was cleaning a rather nasty cut on his charges knee. Actually, this conversation would be more amusing than Miroku intended.

"Don't tell me you forgot already in only a half hour," said Miroku. "You honestly don't know?"

"The night that I finally get tired of your ranting and bash you over the head with your staff?" Inuyasha asked testily. Miroku gave a soft chuckle and continued to wrap his charge's arm, delighting in the silky smooth texture of it. When Miroku didn't do anything but laugh, Inuyasha wondered what he was thinking. 'What was happening before Dad came?' he thought. "Oh, shit." Inuyasha cursed. Miroku laughed out loud at his friends cursing, finding great amusement at his expense.

"This is just fing great. Why do I have to do that stupid dance? I hate dancing!" Inuyasha whined.

"Inuyasha, it's tradition," Miroku explained as he started to clean up the unused bandages. "Everyone in the tribe is counting on you to lead the traditional parting dance."

"Why do I need to dance for the Spirits, hn? Most of those customs are based on superstitions, anyways," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Most of the tribe believes in those 'superstitions,' as you put it. It would upset them if you didn't do your duty," said Miroku evenly. Inuyasha pouted for a bit, glaring at the pot of salve as if it were the cause of all of his troubles. He had to do it. There was no way out of it. His father had stopped doing it years ago; he didn't like doing the dance any more than the boys did. He was the chief, and he knew that it was hard work and planning that got them south every year. The dance might help with their luck, but when it came down to it, the dance was useless. Miroku and Inuyasha had been splitting the burden, though. Inuyasha danced to go south. Miroku danced to go north.

"Damn duty," Inuyasha grumbled. He got to his feet and gathered the medical supplies in his arms. "I'll bring these to Dad. You go and... do something. If I catch you in here, there'll be hell to pay," Inuyasha growled.

"Whatever do you mean by that Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, holding his hands up in an innocent manner. "I have nothing but concern for these fair women."

"Like hell you do. I don't trust you with them. Out," Inuyasha insisted. Miroku shook his head and ducked under the flap of the tent and went outside to go and spy on the bathing women of the tribe who were not yet claimed. Inuyasha turned and eyed the two girls, making sure that they were still asleep and warm, before he too ducked under the flap of the tent to go see his father. He wanted to talk to Kikyo, and tell her everything before she found out from someone else, and things got out of control. He needed to have a few choice words with his father too.

Inutaisho sat quietly in his tent, dressed in new cloths and thinking while he munched on some diner. Cold venison, blech. But it was the only thing to eat at the moment, and if he didn't want to go out and hunt for something fresher, then this would have to do. He was mostly waiting for the inevitable explosion from his son. When he actually gathered his wits he was sure that he would be quite angry; he always was when he was duped. But it was for his own good. If Inutaisho let things keep going the way they were, Inuyasha would be asking permission to mate Kikyo soon, and that couldn't happen.

Heavy footsteps outside alerted Inutaisho to Inuyasha's approaching presence. And sure enough, Inuyasha blew into the tent not ten seconds later.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," he spat.

"I have to explain nothing," Inutaisho replied regally, crossing his arms and turning up his nose.

"Why the hell would you dump that wench on me like that?" Inuyasha asked angrily, sitting down and facing his father. He set down the medical supplies with calm movements that were at odds with the anger in his voice.

"You needed more responsibility, and I made sure that you got some. Do you have something better to be doing with your time?" he said, nodding at Inuyasha and taking up the salve for some minor gashes on his hands and face.

"As a matter of fact, I do. If you wanted to give me more responsibility then why didn't you assign me some work to help with the march? I have stuff to do and I don't want to be bothered by any responsibility towards that wench!" Inuyasha fumed.

"The only thing you do all day is hang around Kikyo. Have you even seen what you two look like to anyone else? She barely lets you touch her," Inutaisho snorted as he daubed salve on his face.

"I don't care what I look like to anyone else, and neither does she; and leave Kikyo out of this, she has nothing to do with this!" Inuyasha spat.

"She's the main reason why I found you the girl. I don't want you to go any further in your relationship with Kikyo," Inutaisho replied solemnly.

"What!? You can't keep us apart!" Inuyasha yelled.

"I know that, and I have no intention of trying. However, I have every confidence that I won't need to for very long," Inutaisho said. Inuyasha wasn't expecting an answer like that, so it took him a few seconds of blinking to sort out the confusion.

"Keh, you're wrong," Inuyasha replied sullenly and abruptly got up to leave. He hoped that his father didn't notice how hollow those last words sounded; and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why they sounded hollow to him.

Inuyasha's next stop was Kikyo. Then he would have to go find Miroku and get some help with that damn costume he had to wear for the dance. There was a large fur cape, lots of feathers, and paint involved, so it was impossible to do alone.

Inuyasha found Kikyo near her mule packing the bags that surrounded it, getting ready for the march tomorrow so that everyone could leave early in the morning. Her familiar scent of medicinal herbs reached him. He liked that scent, but it was something he had to get used to.

"Kikyo, we have to talk," Inuyasha called out to her once he was in her hearing range.

"What about, Inuyasha?" she asked. Inuyasha closed the distance between them and looked her in the eyes.

"Why don't we sit down?" he said. Kikyo nodded and went to go and sit near some of her bags where she could lean against their impressive bulk. Inuyasha sat next to her and faced her.

"I wanted to tell you this before you found out from someone else and took it the wrong way," he began.

"Inuyasha, I have work to do. What would I take the wrong way?" Kikyo asked impatiently.

"You know that my father came back earlier today, right?" she nodded, "Well, he brought back two women with him. And before he told me anything, he had me carry one of them into the camp, because she fell, and was unconscious. Then my father oh-so-graciously informed me that since I touched her first, she was my responsibility and I had to look after her.

"Why would you have to do that?" Kikyo asked, a slight frown covering her features.

"Miroku says that when our tribe raided other tribes, prisoners were taken; and the first person to touch had claim on them. My father used that against me," Inuyasha replied sullenly.

"Well, if it was years ago, then shouldn't that custom not apply anymore?" Kikyo asked, coloring her voice with hurt.

"I thought of that, but my father can reinstate any custom he wants to suit his purposes. If I tried to pull that, he's probably say something like 'Now I say that the custom applies to these two women and you, and you have to do what I say because I'm your father and you have to listen to me,'" Inuyasha said, worry creeping into his eyes. He reached out a hand to try and comfort Kikyo, but she immediately busied herself with rearranging the contents of the bag she was leaning on. 'I never noticed it before. Does she really not let me touch her?'

"If there's nothing we can do about it, then there's no use fighting it. I just don't want her taking up too much of your time. I'd miss you too much," Kikyo reasoned sweetly. Inuyasha smiled and shifted closer to her. He pulled her close and leaned her against his chest, running his fingers through her unbound hair. She stiffened, but slowly relaxed into his hold and sighed contentedly. They just sat there in comfortable silence for a few moments, Inuyasha's hand trailing lazily through her hair. Then Kikyo broke the embrace and looked at Inuyasha.

"Well, I have to get back to work. And you have to go get ready for your dance," Kikyo said. She was tempted to giggle, but she didn't.

"Did everyone but me remember that stupid thing was today?" Inuyasha asked irritably.

"Apparently, don't tell me that everyone packing didn't remind you," She said, looking sideways at him as she reclosed her pack.

"Fine, I won't. I'll see you later," he said and walked off.

Kikyo sighed as she watched Inuyasha walk off. She didn't like the idea of him spending time with another woman; but there was nothing for it. If Inutaisho insisted that it was his responsibility, then there was nothing that any of them could do about it. She just hoped this wouldn't interfere with her plans.

Kagome shifted under a heavy weight. Something was draped over her, and it was nice. It made her warm and she wanted to stay like that. She hadn't been warm in a long time. She wasn't that comfortable though. Something was digging into her side. With a sigh, she got up and felt around. Damn, stupid rock. Waking her up from her nice, warm sleep. Someone had given her their shirt; probably the same person who bandaged her. Her scrapes didn't even hurt anymore.

Kagome looked around to take stock of her surroundings. Sango was on her left, still asleep. They were in some kind of tent, it was kind of big, and it could probably fit two more people comfortably. As Kagome's mind continued to shake itself free from the last dregs of sleep, she became aware of a rhythmic beating of a drum; and it was rather dark and boring in the little tent, so she decided to go and see what it was.

She stepped out under the flap used as a door and looked around. The only significant light came from the large bonfire about a hundred feet away from where she stood. A mob of people were gathered around it cheering and clapping, and stomping in harmony with the beat of the drums. It was quite mesmerizing. There was someone moving around the fire in circles, too. She couldn't quite see him, though. She saw a flash of white hair. 'Is that... no, he's too short to be him,' she thought, thinking of her 'rescuer.' Although, he hadn't done too bad of a job.

She continued to watch the man dancing around the fire. He executed turns and jumps, and kicks, and spins that was just... perfect. He was perfect, a lean, muscled body that was shaded exquisitely in the firelight. He moved with a grace that Kagome had never seen before; swinging his arms to the beat and occasionally shouting out something. He continued to dance, and Kagome continued to watch, utterly engrossed in studying his features. You couldn't quite tell from this distance, but it looked like there wasn't something quite right with his head. There were two spots where it could be matted hair? Kagome had no idea, so she turned her eyes to trail down his muscled body; confident that no one would catch her staring.

She was so engrossed in watching the man dance that she didn't really notice when the music stopped, and he stopped dancing. He stood at one point, facing the fire. He said some stuff in a different language that Kagome had heard her rescuer speak and shout in. Actually, she was pretty sure that on the rare occasions that her rescuer spoke, he was cursing, but enough about him.

The mob started to disperse after a while. Kagome watched as someone wearing purple and black, and holding a staff, walked up to the dancer. He said something and pointed to her direction. Kagome started. She was sure that she hadn't been noticed. The boy looked over to her and his jaw dropped. The other boy laughed, and was rewarded with a bonk on the head. The white haired boy took off parts of the strange costume he was wearing and tossed them at the boy in purple. Then he stalked over towards Kagome where she was hidden in the shadows.

He reached her and she could see that his face was very red. Either he was blushing furiously, or he was just flushed from dancing and being so close to the fire.

"D'a manoke shi souwe?" he asked. He received a blank look, and repeated the question. He was looking at her expectantly and it was making her uneasy. What if he knew she was staring? She was uneasy anyway; being so close to something that she was sure couldn't be real.

"Uh... um... I don't really understand what you're saying," she managed to say. Now he was the one giving her blank looks, then he smacked his forehead.

"Ski da mo taketsuwa," he grumbled. He grabbed her arm and led her into the tent. Poor Kagome had no idea of what was going on. What was he doing? Where was she? Who was he? Movement at the top of his head caught her attention. Are those _dog ears_? It had to be from the lack of sleep she seemed to be getting. Plus the fact that she was probably delirious from lack of food. People don't have dog ears; but he did. Maybe she was imagining it.

The dog-eared boy led her into the tent and brought her down to the place where she was sleeping. He pointed to her spot and said "Api."

Kagome glanced nervously. She still remembered Sango's warnings on how the Native Americans liked to rape the women that they took. She didn't know much about them in the first place, either. But he didn't look particularly menacing. Only slightly annoyed, and his face was still colored red. He grabbed her arm and pulled her down. Then he took the shirt that she had discarded and tossed it into her lap. When she didn't do anything he heaved an annoyed sigh and scooted over to another side of the tent where there was a pot of something and several rags that Kagome had not noticed before. She watched as he took a rag and cleaned off the paint that was on his shoulders, face and arms.

Inuyasha could feel her eyes on him the entire time. He was feeling very self conscious since Miroku had laughingly pointed out that the girl had been watching him dance nearly the entire time. He just knew that his face was still colored red. And the fact that she was still staring at him made him uneasy, and the whole situation was awkward.

He finished cleaning the paint off. That stuff itched like hell if he kept it on too long, and if he didn't clean it of within a couple of hours, he got an unhealthy looking rash. He turned around and locked eyes with the girl. She started and quickly dropped her gaze to the shirt in her lap. Now that was odd. Her face quickly heated and the red was clearly visible all the way down to her shoulders. Inuyasha laughed and some of the awkwardness he felt slipped away. She looked up when she heard him laugh, a puzzled look on her face. He shook his head to indicate that it was nothing. He wished that he could just talk to her. She obviously didn't speak the language of the tribe. She probably spoke the language that the invaders spoke. He'd have to teach her to communicate. Damn, this was going to be a handful.

Inuyasha sighed and scooted around to get comfortable. It was his tent after all, and Miroku's. He should be coming back in a while, right after he put away that damn foolish costume.

"Oi, Sqwa," Inuyasha said, calling the attention of the girl to him. She looked up with a frown on her face, and pointed to herself and said, "Kagome," Slowly and clearly. She had to put up with her rescuer calling her that. She assumed that it was a derogatory name, considering that he only called her that when she was walking too slowly and he had to "hup, hup" her along.

Inuyasha assumed that she was trying to tell him her name. Well, she didn't have to say it like he was stupid; after all, he had done nothing to make her assume that. Although, his father might have. Inuyasha got an evil smirk on his face and he looked her in the eye.

"Squwaw," he said. She shook her head and said, "Kagome."

"Squwaw."

"Ka-go-me!" she said, raising her voice. She didn't like that smile, and she knew that he understood her perfectly well. He laughed and pointed to where she was sitting.

"Winote," he commanded. She just shook her head and looked confused. The boy heaved a tortured sigh and pushed her shoulder until she was lying down. "Winote." He said again. Then he scooted a couple of feet away and lay down himself. It had been a long day for Inuyasha. All of the events of the day were weighing heavy on his mind and he just wanted to let them all float away with sleep. He expected it to take hours, like it usually did, but the sweet scent of apples drifted across his nose, and he fell asleep in only a matter of minutes.

Kagome, on the other hand, lay awake for quite some time. She was very aware of the boy sleeping next to her and she scooted away a bit. She was unused to being so close to a boy and the fact that she was attracted to him make her even more skittish. She lay, thinking about her family. They must be worried. She wished she could get back to them, but she didn't see that happening anytime soon. It took days to travel to where they were. Maybe she could ask to go home, once she knew how to ask. Soon, the rhythmic breathing of the boy and Sango soon lulled Kagome into a restful sleep.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or any related characters.


	6. Chapter 6

**Way Back When**

**By: Moon Turnip**

**Chapter  6**

            The sunlight filtering through the folds and cracks of the tipi was not what had awoken Kagome. She wasn't really sure what was. She was nicely warm, against the uncomfortable cold that attacked her face and feet. A shirt infused with the smell of pine and something unidentifiable covered her from her neck to her knees. Kagome curled up, trying to protect her exposed skin from the biting chill.

            It had been so long since she was allowed to sleep; and while the ground wasn't the most comfortable bed in the world, she could easily fall back to the land of dreams. Her eyes were drifting shut when something was abruptly dropped on her head, causing her to shoot up and squeak in alarm, swatting away the disturbance. Amused laughter drew her attention to the white haired boy from the night before. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Keep her awake will he?

            Darting her eyes around the small enclosure, she came up at a loss for things to throw at him. Well, she could always throw a rock, but she didn't really want to hurt him, just get that annoying grin off of his face.

            "Just what do you think you're laughing at?" she asked him snippily. It didn't matter if he understood her or not, she was going to vent her frustration some way; and what better way than talking to someone who couldn't understand you and wouldn't know if you were insulting them?

            "Tsubaka ma towe, souwe hibiki na gastoma," he said. Well, apparently he figured that little bit of comfort out too.

            'Or not,' she thought as he pointed to her chest. Kagome looked at him in confusion and then looked down.

            "Kyaaaa!" she screamed as her state of tattered 'undress' was revealed to her. For undress it was; she was practically hanging out of her shirt, it was so torn! She grabbed the discarded shirt she was using as a blanket and clutched it to her bare abdomen.

            That boy was standing there, laughing so hard that he was gulping for breath while he leaned most of his weight on his bent knees. That's it; she didn't care anymore if the damn rock hurt. She picked up the largest one she could find - which was pathetically small- and hurled it at his head, aiming for one of those fuzzy ears.

            She missed horribly, and ended up hitting him on his bare shoulder, but it had vaguely the same effect. It didn't knock him unconscious, but it did get his attention; enough so that he saw her enraged face when she pointed to the doorway, screaming "Out!"

            Still chuckling quietly to himself, he sauntered out of the tipi, throwing a jaunty little wave over his shoulder with a quick "Ki'htwa'm ka-wa'pamitin," in a wretched singsong voice.

            Well, the nerve of him! He didn't even know her and he was already ridiculing her!

            "Stupid men that think they're better than everyone else… I didn't even deserve that… let alone provoke it in _any_ way…" she grumbled to herself as she looked over the bundle that had been dropped so unceremoniously on her head.

            The bundle consisted of several garments made out of some sort of animal hide. There was a—what she supposed was a dress—that hung from her shoulders by two narrow straps and reached from just below the armpits to the middle of the leg. There was a decorative flap on the top, along with two detachable sleeves that could be laced onto the straps of the dress to keep in place.  There was also a pair of leggings, made out of the ubiquitous hide, which slipped on and could be laced in the back to keep them up. They went up and ended just below the fringe of the dress. To complete the ensemble, there was a pair of moccasins that were made out of the animal skin. The seams were on the outside, with one piece of hide forming the sole and top. Another strip worked as the tongue piece. All in all, it was a deceptively comfortable outfit. The hide was extremely soft and didn't chafe anywhere it shouldn't. It was much more comfortable than modern cloths ever were, and she wondered who gave up their cloths for her. One last piece caught her eye. It was a long strip of cloth with two feathers at each end. One feather was a shiny, lustrous-looking black, and the other was a nearly perfect white pinion from a large bird. They were beautiful, and she loved the way they shined, even in the dim light of the tipi. She wrapped around her waist and tied it in a knot at her hip

            Finding no more reason to stay inside the tipi, Kagome peeped around the flap to see the white-haired boy running quickly between two horses and attaching several bags and other various things to them. A few feet away there was that boy that had spoken to the dog-eared stranger trying to offer Sango a bundle similar to the one Kagome had received. Sango was vehemently refusing to even touch the thing, and the boy was looking increasingly frustrated.

            Now why hadn't Kagome noticed Sango's absence in the tipi? Probably because she forgot about her in the embarrassment of 'the incident' as she had dubbed it.

            "Sango!" she called out and quickly walked over to the older girl's side. Sango looked up and a brief look of disgust crossed her face at seeing Kagome, but it was quickly redirected toward the bundle that was hanging in the black haired boy's limp arm.

            "Kagome, maybe he'll listen to you. Tell him that I refuse to dress myself like a savage," she said while turning her back on him. The boy sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair.

            "Sango, it's not so bad; they're actually comfortable," Kagome tried to reason with her.

            "Just because you don't have morals, doesn't mean I don't," she spat and walked away.

            Kagome's mouth hung open in surprise and all thought fled from her mind. No one ever thought she didn't have morals- she was a good girl! She did well in school and was nice to everyone, and didn't dress too badly, and fed her cat, and was respectful to her mother, and didn't harass her brother too badly.... And Sango accused her of having no morals because she didn't want to be practically undressed in front of people? Well, that was her problem! Sango could rot for all she cared, and if she got caught in branches and her skirts got waterlogged again, than she wouldn't get much help from her!

Kagome could feel the stinging of tears behind her eyes, but held up the floodgates. It was all very stressful- falling down a well, having her life threatened on more than one occasion, being dragged for miles through clinging bushes, and the thought of never seeing her family again weighed heavily on her mind. She would only need one more prick and her careful dam would collapse.

            Kagome shook her head at her silliness. Now what kind of person cries at such a trivial thing as a person snapping at you? Obviously Sango had been through some hard times as well, and could be given some leeway; but that didn't mean that Kagome couldn't make the best of the situation. She would try her best to get back home and-

            The feeling of a hand on her rear end made all thoughts fly out of her head.

            "Kyaaaaaa!"

            Inuyasha was packing the horses with mostly Miroku's belongings, seeing as he was going through the extremely vexing task of getting his charge to wear some decent clothing. How did women wear all of those layers? Didn't they trip up at all? It must have been unbearably hot in the summer heat, too.

            He dashed to the second horse and secured a leather strap more tightly when a satchel of Miroku's talismans started to slip.

            "Stupid houshi. Can't even tie his stuff on right before he goes off chasing some female ass..." Inuyasha grumbled. Well, now the only thing that had to be taken care of was the tipi. The wooden poles could be thrown into the woods; and the skin covering would be used to line the floors of the cave system they used in their southern home, so that would have to be folded up. Inuyasha didn't have much to pack up himself. Some furs that he had managed to save; just in case he needed to trade for anything- he had to use some of those the day before to get real clothing for the women. There was a painted rock that Kikyo gave him once that had the flower of her namesake on it. Other than that, there wasn't much. He used his claws to hunt, so he didn't need spears or bows and arrows, like the human members of the tribe needed to use.

            As a warrior of the tribe, he didn't really own anything. If someone needed extra cloths, then he was expected to give up some of his clothing. If he didn't have any clothing to spare, then he was expected to give them any fur that he had. Not to everyone, though. There were other warriors that even had their own favorite families to help. Inuyasha used to have an impressive collection of food, furs, horses, and other items; but preparation for the long trek south depleted every warrior's supplies to nearly nothing.

            The furs he managed to save he had to trade carefully for the women's clothing. Five months ago he had gone on a four-week-long hunting trip and had come across a monster of a moose. The damn thing took all day to skin, and slowed him down considerably going back home. It had provided the entire tribe with enough meat for a few days; but its hide was a precious find. Inuyasha had spent days preparing the stupid thing until it was almost as soft as deerskin. Since he had no woman of his own, and Kikyo was decidedly busy, the task had fallen to him if he didn't want to give the skin away. He was able to get Miroku to trade the hide for the two outfits for the women, but it still didn't get much. Only the plainest of dresses, leggings, and moccasins were available for trade. Inuyasha considered the trade lucky, and if the women wanted to decorate their cloths themselves, then it would just be making them more productive. 

            As Inuyasha mulled over his thoughts, he was oblivious to the snubbing that Kagome got, and the groping that happened not two minutes later. Only Kagome's shriek alerted him to her peril. Inuyasha sprung around the horse and was in time to witness Kagome clobber the shaman over the head. She looked down on him, as he sat there rubbing his head, with a fearful look and a fire in her eyes. She ineffectually started to scream and rant at the dazed pervert, forgetting that he didn't understand a word of her shpeal in her rage, but her basic message getting across all the same.

            Inuyasha stalked over to Miroku. Not only was he _not_ supposed to touch Kagome, under the tribal laws; but he was just _not_ supposed to touch any woman like that! He reached the dazed pervert and gave him his own beating.

            "You stupid ass! What the hell do you think you were doing? If I _ever_ catch you doing that again, brother or not, I'll skin you alive!" He shouted. His yelling was enough to stop Kagome and have her observe the exchange with curious, yet still alarmingly angry, eyes.

            "Inuyasha, I was merely comforting the lady," Miroku pleaded, but Inuyasha didn't buy it.

            "Comforting my ass! Don't you ever touch her like that again! I don't care what you do with the other woman, but leave this one alone!" he raged.

            "Maa maa, Inuyasha. Consider me thoroughly chastened," Miroku said, trying to calm down the infuriated hanyou.

            "You better be," Inuyasha growled and then turned his attention to Kagome.

He walked over to her and took Kagome's arm to lead her back over to the tipi. He picked up an empty bag and handed it to her while he went inside and gathered up the various things littering the floor of the tent. There was only his belongings now- Miroku's having been taken out earlier. He gathered them up and brought them outside. Kagome was still standing there, looking mildly confused.

Walking up to her, he kneeled down and placed the items on the floor. He motioned for her to kneel down as well and then began the vexing task of trying to tell her what he wanted her to do.

She was quick, she understood right away, after only making several motions of putting stuff in the bag, and pointing to her. So while she packed the bag, he collapsed the tent and untied the wooden posts. He hefted the three large poles and the seven or so smaller branches that made up the frame of his home for the last six months, and with a little remorse, carried them over to the forest line and dropped them in the woods.

He returned to find that Kagome had finished packing the bag and was straightening out the tent covering for folding. It was far too heavy for her to fold alone, though. It was made up of about twelve buffalo hides. This surprised him; he thought she would be useless unless directed specifically, or as specifically as one could be with hand gestures. He quickly hurried over and together they unlaced the hides to roll them up into bundles of two.

            By the time Kagome and her white-haired stranger had finished packing everything, the dark haired man was still busily trying to get Sango to wear some new cloths. Sango was lecturing him, looking the indignant part of the unwilling captive all too thoroughly for Kagome to appreciate, and he was looking very strained as he struggled to remain calm. Needless to say, Sango was not making it easy.

            A look of annoyance passed over Kagome's face and she marched up to Sango.

            "Sango! I don't care if you don't want to wear it, I don't care if you bloody well want to burn it, but hold it and if you want to stay in those God-awful skirts, then don't make it the rest of our problem. Those cloths are yours for now, and they were kind enough to let you have them," she yelled, grabbing the bundle from Miroku and thrusting it into Sango's hands.

            "Kind enough to give them to us?" she repeated in shock, "They kidnapped us! I will not give up my morals and wear heathen clothing," she argued.

            "_They_," she said, pointing between the two men, "did not kidnap us. That other guy did. _They_ have been nothing but hospitable to us, and all you can do is act like a condemning tyrant," she scolded, tapping her foot and putting her hands on her hips in irritation. Sango got a furious look in her eyes, but stifled it and stiffly walked away from Kagome, still carrying the bundle of cloths.

            "Mino-Kisika'w," a voice and a tap on her shoulder alerted her to the presence of the dog-eared man behind her. "Ji kamaki-an'son," he said and gestured for her to follow. He brought her over to a horse and stood there like he expected her to get on.

            "Api," he said, and when she only shifted nervously, picked her up and settled her on the horse. Kagome yelped and clung to the horse's neck. After all, she still didn't know how to ride, and the height from the ground was a very _long_ way down. After that, it wasn't long before they set out. The white haired man walked next to Kagome's horse, and after some convincing- and another tongue lashing from Kagome, which seemed to have no effect- Sango got on the second horse and the other boy followed.

            So, it was in silence that they two men led the girls to the rest of the tribe.

**AN:** I'm not too sure I like the ending of that, but it'll do for now. I may change it. There have been some new developments in the plot, namely that I am less ignorant of one particular tribe's customs than I was. Inuyasha's tribes will follow some of the customs of the plains Cree tribes, and wear similar cloths. The language that they speak (and you won't be seeing it for much longer as Kagome starts to learn it) is a mixture of Japanese, a Cree tribe in Quebec- around the James bay- language, and some words I made up. I'll translate the Cree language that I used, but not the made up words or Japanese. And that's it!!

**Translations**

Mino-kisika'w = It's a good day

Api = Sit (I had a blast when I found this one out- and no, Kagome is not going to have a subduing spell)

Ki'htwa'm ka-wa'pamitin = I'll see you again

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any related characters.


End file.
